After the Utah Jazz began this season in dismal, disheartening fashion by losing 15 of their first 17 games, a two-game winning "streak" is almost cause for celebration and could be a sign that they're turning the corner in their rebuilding project.

“It's great for the guys and I'm excited for them to have some success. To see some of the things we've talked about for a while now starting to show on the floor and they're getting good results.”

Jazz coach Tyrone Corbin

SALT LAKE CITY — News flash: The Utah Jazz have won two games in a row! Repeat: The Utah Jazz have won two games in a row!

OK, so back in the day, that newsbreaking bulletin wouldn't get a second glance.

But these days, after the Jazz began this season in dismal, disheartening fashion by losing 15 of their first 17 games and wins were so darned difficult to come by, a two-game winning "streak" is almost cause for celebration.

It could be a sign that the Jazz (4-15) — who host the Indiana Pacers, the NBA's best team (16-2), Wednesday night at EnergySolutions Arena — might be turning the corner in their rebuilding project.

"It's great for the guys and I'm excited for them to have some success," Utah coach Tyrone Corbin said of Monday's victory over the Houston Rockets. "To see some of the things we've talked about for a while now starting to show on the floor and they're getting good results.

"We need each other to help each other be as good as we can be on the floor. And there's still a lot of room for growth, so we'll keep working. Sometimes we may not look as well as we will at other times, but we've just got to keep working at it, man. It takes awhile to build up the camaraderie, the chemistry, the belief and the trust in each other when you go into competition together."

HOMETOWN HEROES: Jazz shooting guard GordonHayward is an Indiana native who grew up as a huge fan of the Pacers.

And now?

"It doesn't matter to me anymore," he said of his Pacers' fandom before Tuesday's team practice at Zions Bank Basketball Center. "When they had Reggie (Miller) and them, that's when I loved watching their players. But now I'm a Jazz fan, you know.

"Reggie Miller texted me right when I came out in the draft, and that was like the coolest thing ever because he was my favorite player and I met him a couple of times."

Hayward occasionally runs into another former Pacers star and teammate of Miller's, center RikSmits, who spent his entire 12-year NBA career with Indiana.

"Rik Smits actually still lives in Indianapolis and he plays every now and again, and it's funny to see him out there," Hayward said.

"He doesn't really have to move because he's like 7-4 so he shoots over you. Sometimes you go to Lifetime or something and just shoot around, and he'll be there shooting around, too."

SOMEONE YOUNG: Corbin has been pleased with the development of rookie point guard TreyBurke, who has been stellar since returning from a broken finger he suffered during the preseason.

"We knew we needed a point guard, and we needed a young point guard to grow with this young group that we have," the Jazz coach said. "Trey was ranked as one of the best guys out there. He had a great senior year in college basketball and he was rated one of the best, if not the best, guy that we thought would be out there.

"So, of course, for us to have a chance to get him was great for where we were in our development."

In the seven games he's played since his return, Burke has averaged 12.6 points per game — third-best on the team.

SOMEONE OLD: Veteran forward RichardJefferson, who's averaging 10 points per game this season, has been in double figures just twice in the last six games.

But Corbin pointed out there are many more ways to contribute than simply by scoring.

"Some nights, although a guy may not be making shots, there are other things they can be doing to be effective for us on the floor," he said. "Richard's still playing very well for us. He may not be scoring as much some nights as effectively as other nights, but he does some good things on the floor.

"And as this team becomes more familiar with each other, we get more healthy and we get more time on the floor with different combinations, we become a little bit more versatile.

SOMEONE AILING: Forwards MarvinWilliams (sore right heel) and JeremyEvans (stomach flu) did not practice Tuesday morning and will both be game-time decisions as to whether they'll play in Wednesday night's contest against the Pacers.

Popular Comments

"Trey was ranked as one of the best guys out there. He had a great senior
year in college basketball and he was rated one of the best..."

Poor Corbin. Somebody ought to let him know that Trey Burke came out of
College after his
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2:24 p.m. Dec. 4, 2013

Top comment

Americanvet

Ivins, UT

This game against the Pacers will be be a nice chance to see how the Jazz are
progressing. As they say on any given night any team can win, but odds are
against the Jazz winning this game. All I want to see is the Jazz play hard and
see signs of
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Randy Hollis is a member of the Deseret News Vis-Ed team, primarily working on copy editing and page layout/design for the sports department. He also writes a weekly sports column which typically runs each Sunday. He came more ..